Louder Than Silence

In this episode, Lori Poland is joined by Keri Richmond, a changemaker, storyteller, and advocate for children and families.
Through her work in Washington, DC, Keri champions the power of lived experience, engaging in substantive policy expertise on child welfare and health issues. Her influence extends to the halls of Congress and the White House, where she passionately shares recommendations for systemic change.
CEO and founder of Keri Hope CO and a founding executive director of Unbelievably Resilient, Keri orchestrates strategic plans that leverage authentic storytelling to reshape perceptions of foster care.

She believes, the narrative being told splits everyone rather than nurtures the community as “one”. And, she believes in the power of relationships to build resilience and heal. She wants to reignite the passion to reform systems in place.

Keri shares her thoughts on the assumption that someone else is going to help – the bystander effect. That happens a lot that someone else is going to help in this field; everyone can do something. There is power in just showing up!

Lori and Keri talk about “mattering” and the power of connections. Who in your life showed up for you when you needed them?

Resources:

Keri Hope Website

Keri Richmond Instagram

Keri Richmond LinkedIn

In this episode, Lori is joined by Tanya and Lauren. This is an open and frank discussion on sex offenders and sexual offenses.

In this episode, Lori Poland is joined by Alli Meyerhardt, the founder and executive director of Breaking Silence, a national organization designed to give a voice to survivors of abuse. As a survivor herself, Alli knew that the story many had to share would pave the way to ending sexual assault and domestic violence. She followed this vision and began a nonprofit that focuses on teaching people about the consequences of sexual assault, ways in which they can prevent it, and the realities of consent.
The Louder than Silence podcast is brought to you by the National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN): www.endcan.org
Takeaways:
We need to believe in the power of people’s stories and to teach people to accept those stories and create safe spaces.
Stories need to be felt with love and kindness rather than saying, “we don’t talk about it.”
“I believe you, I hear you, I am so sorry that happened to you,” should be the response to anyone who shares their story.
Everyone needs to humanize people’s stories and learn to feel it.
The goal of Breaking Silence and the work they do is to create a world full of advocates.
The definition of "safe" is different for every person. We need to be protectors of all.
It is not easy to get someone curious when they don’t want to talk about “it.”
It is not always your responsibility to change someone else’s mind, but compassionate listening is necessary.
If you are open to hearing, then go and listen. Become a learner. There is someone in your life who has been impacted by violence.
Quote of the Show:
“A universal truth is we all feel pain. We are all human.”
Links:
Breaking Silence - www.breakingsilence.org

Dr. Richard Krugman, cofounder and Board Chair of EndCAN, explains why he chose to focus his career on child abuse and neglect. This subject is one few want to talk about, but Dr. Krugman explains why we must be Louder than Silence in order to create the possibility of a future where people do not experience abuse as children.

The Louder than Silence podcast is brought to you by The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN).

Links

Dr. Richard Krugman - Bio

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In this episode, Lori Poland is once again joined by fellow survivor, Jon Vaughn. To change things up, Jon interviews Lori about her experiences as a survivor.
The Louder than Silence podcast is brought to you by the National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (EndCAN): www.endcan.org
Episode Takeaways:

• What made Lori write her book? “When we are survivors, there is a developmental process, and my sentences became paragraphs, and then a book. It is one of the faces of survivorship – we start as a victim, then move out of that phase and transition into survivorship and then into being a thriver and then when you’re through finding ‘your own’, you transition to transcender.”
• The title is, “I Live Here” which details her life story, starting with her kidnapping at the age of 3. When she was found by rescuers at the bottom of an outhouse toilet, she told them, "I live here."
• Children do not know what normal is, so what they are experiencing may seem normal to them without realizing it is abuse.
• The narrative of her story was only what she had been told by family, and it was their story, not her's. Every time she was interviewed publicly, they accused her making parts of the story up and the more this happened, the more she did research and saw details that she was not aware of. Their narrative and her experience were not the same.
• The history of books is “his” story in everyone’s own perspective. And, you have to own your perspective and truth and defend it.
• It’s okay to not have a family in the way most people envision. You’re going to have family that will never leave because they are touched by your story.
• Always take time for yourself; wounds don’t heal in a day.
• We have to be able to say no, to society, to parents, to abusers, to anyone trying to hurt you.

Quotes of the Show:

• "Transcenders are people who turn around and give it back. "
• "Don’t be concerned about people talking, be concerned when they aren’t."

Links:
Lori's book, "I Live Here" - https://endcan.org/2022/07/11/lori-poland-memoir/